It is a popular weapon against dragons of all types and enemies weak to crush, such as Vet'ion, as it has the second highest stab bonus in the game and a reasonable crush bonus. It also possesses the highest defensive bonuses for a one-handed weapon in stab, slash, and ranged. All of the stat bonuses remain the same as a Zamorakian spear, and it retains its special attack. As the hasta can be wielded with off-hand equipment such as a shield or defender, it is preferable over the spear in all instances except when fighting Corporeal Beast.

Combat styles

Special attack

A player performs the Zamorakian hasta's special attack, Shove.

The Zamorakian hasta has a special attack, Shove, which it shares with the dragon and Zamorakian spear. It pushes an opponent back and stuns them for three seconds, consuming 25% of the player's special attack energy.

The effects of this special are non-stackable, meaning that players cannot use the hasta's special attack on a target who is already stunned. In addition to this, players are given a one tick (0.6 seconds) period of immunity after a stun wears off in which they cannot be stunned again.

In addition, it cannot be used against large monsters, such as giants, because they are too big to push back. If a player tries this, a regular attack occurs and no special attack energy is consumed. A message appears in the chat box, reading, "That creature is too large to knock back!" A general way to tell if the hasta can use the "Shove" special attack is to determine how much space the target monster takes up. If it takes up more than one space, it cannot be shoved. For example, a player can shove an ice warrior, which takes up one space, but not an ice giant, which takes up four.